Midnight Playground (9 page)

“Stop.”

Eve stilled at the firm command. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, she held her breath and counted to five before exhaling a long, slow breath.

“You’re shaking. What’s wrong?” Chase wrapped himself around her and spun the chair around so she had to face Murphy.

“Nothing. I-I—”

“If you tell me you’re fine, I will turn you over my knee and paddle your ass until you can’t sit down for days.”

Eve blinked at the pressure in her eyes, but nothing helped. Murphy pulled her from Chase’s lap and into his arms, where she burst into tears.

Chapter Ten

Murphy knew the second she would lose it. What had triggered the outburst, he had no idea. He carried her to the couch and sat down. With her cradled against his chest, he waited out the tears. Chase gave him a questioning look, and he shrugged. What could he say? It was possible she hadn’t fully recovered from the scene and seeing the pictures had brought a flood of emotion crashing down on her.

Eve shuddered violently in his arms with full-blown racking sobs. Whatever she’d held pent up inside had desperately needed to come out. Now they just needed to find out what it was.

He brushed his hand across the top of her head and placed a kiss at her ear. “Let it all out, Eve. I’ve got you.”

And the sudden realization that he didn’t want to let her go hit him like a sucker punch to the solar plexus. But did he know her well enough to keep her?

He’d been so certain before, and look how great that had turned out. Eve wasn’t like
her
though. She wasn’t sophisticated and manipulative. In fact, he’d never met a more down-to-earth woman in his life. Everything about her screamed practical, except for the damned shoes. She had been torturing him for months with her goddamned fuck-me shoes. Dozens of them. He wondered if she even realized that four-inch heels put her at the perfect height to be bent over a desk and fucked from behind.

He did. And he’d had the hard-ons to prove it.

Of course now he also knew she had more secrets than why she wore sexy heels and incredible lingerie. They’d touched on something deeper, and now he had to know what.

Several long minutes later her sobs had decreased to sniffles, and he pointed to the box of tissues on the cabinet behind Chase. His friend grabbed it and came around the desk. When Chase settled on the couch next to him and placed a hand at the small of her back, Murphy had to bite back a satisfied smile.

The bastard wasn’t as cold as he wanted everyone to believe. The destruction left behind in the wake of their previous relationship had affected him, and everything leading to tonight had colored his behavior. Murphy’s inclination was to push Chase. To force him to see what Eve could be to them, but deep down he knew he’d have to wait him out. Forcing Chase to do anything was out of the question.

Murphy passed a tissue to Eve and waited for her to pull herself together. She needed to be calm before they questioned her. Instinct told him she’d try to run—an option neither he nor Chase would allow.

Long moments passed where the only sound came from the last of Eve’s sniffles and the hum of Chase’s computer. For Murphy, fatigue had begun to set in. With his head resting against the back of the leather sofa, it would be easy enough to fall asleep where he sat. Eve had quit squirming, and her breathing had settled into a steady rhythm. He suspected she’d fully recovered and was now afraid or embarrassed to make a move.

When her stomach rumbled, he lifted her from his chest and stared into her red-rimmed eyes. “You’re hungry.”

She nodded.

The seat cushion shifted, and Chase moved toward the bags of food. He removed container after container along with the plates and silverware Murphy had requested from the restaurant. He’d wanted Eve to know he had more style than to make her eat out of containers.

Ideally he would have bundled her into his car and taken her to their condo. That image made him smile. She was far too skittish at the moment to be dragged off for more kinky adventures. He’d at least give her a minute or two.

“What’s so funny?”

“I was thinking about what I wanted to do with you.”

Her face perked up. “Do I even want to know?”

“Probably not yet. Turn around and get some food. We have time for that later.”

She stared back at him for a few more minutes. Probably trying to figure out what he was up to. Eventually she scooted from his lap and took a spot between Chase and him on the couch.

“What kind of Chinese do you like? I pretty much got a little of everything.”

“Any orange chicken?”

“Ahh, a woman after my own heart.” Chase spoke up and handed her the extra-large container he’d been holding.

“It’s his favorite.”

“Oohh, mine too. This and a little fried rice and I’m in heaven.” She scooped food onto her plate and settled back in her seat. Murphy glanced at Chase over her head and nodded his assent.

“Eve, why do you live in that building?”

Eve froze, fork halfway to her mouth.

Curious, Murphy watched her body language carefully. One of the first things he’d learned when he entered the scene was the importance of body language. All the hype given about safe words and shit was exactly that. Hype. Often a submissive became too far gone in a scene to utter the safe word, or too damned stubborn.

He’d met many a bratty and willful sub more determined to impress him with how far she’d be willing to go, rather than actually taking the time to really get to know him so they’d both benefit. It depressed him how many women couldn’t wrap their heads around the fact that their pleasure was his pleasure, and it was his duty and right to give it when he deemed it appropriate.

It had been that guiding principle that had led Chase and him not only into the scene, but in the search for a submissive to share.

Eve stared into her food. She’d stopped eating, and based on the way she fidgeted with the fork, he’d guess she was lost in some sort of memory. Longing to touch her, he reached out and stroked her hair. The soft strands caressed his fingers. His cock tightened and strained against his pants. It seemed no matter what they did, she aroused him.

“The building belongs to my stepfather.” Her answer came out on a hoarse croak. “When he got sick, it kinda became my responsibility.”

Ah… Now they were getting somewhere.

“Is he…” Murphy hated to ask the question.

Eve shook her head furiously. “Oh no, he’s still alive and for the most part well. About six months ago I moved him into a local assisted-living facility. He has Alzheimer’s.”

Chase and he both nodded. She’d spoken the words calmly enough, although the frown lines on her forehead made him curious. There was definitely more to her story.

Presuming they were satisfied, she returned to her meal and they all finished in silence. When all the food and drink had been consumed and Chase’s office restored to order, Murphy pulled Eve between them.

“You certainly don’t offer much detail about yourself, do you?”

She blinked up at him. “I didn’t think it mattered here. I do my job, whatever that may be, then I go home to my personal life and trudge through that.”

“See, that’s exactly what I’m talking about. Why are you trudging along? Honestly, Eve, that doesn’t sound fun at all.” Murphy reached for another lock of her hair and twirled it between his fingers. He needed to stop thinking about sex, but he couldn’t stop touching her.

“Today was the most fun I’ve had in a long time,” she whispered.

“Why? What’s been holding you back?” Chase asked.

A deep sigh sounded from Eve, compressing her tighter in his arms.

“You aren’t going to let this go, are you?”

“No.” They answered in unison.

Eve pushed and wiggled from their embrace. She moved away from them, and this time they let her go. “A few years ago, my mother got sick. Cancer.”

Murphy’s heart sank at the gravelly, pain-filled sound of her voice.

“My stepfather’s dementia was still in its early stages, but he refused to help her. He claimed his work required more of his attention, and since he was the sole breadwinner in the family, I moved in to help my mom.”

“Nice guy.” Murphy couldn’t resist the jab. Assholes like him were everywhere.

“You don’t know the half of it.” Her hands twisted together in her lap. Likely a subconscious move.

“Why don’t you tell us,” Chase interjected.

“Suffice it to say, my stepdad would definitely not win any awards for parenting or being a husband. My mom was everything that held the family together, and her death changed everything.”

“Changed how?” Murphy had to work at not pulling her into his arms. Eve was a proud woman, and he sensed she needed the little bit of distance at the moment.

“I’d always planned to strike out on my own, find my way in the world, and no sooner did I get out, I was pulled back in again. So when my mom’s cancer took a turn for the worse, I started making plans for the future.” She jumped up from the sofa and strode across the room and back again.

“And?” Chase sounded as impatient as he felt.

“Her last wish was that I take care of Jim. That’s my stepdad. By the time of her death, his Alzheimer’s had progressed to the point he needed a lot more help than I could give. So she made me promise not to leave him, to ensure he was well taken care of.”

“So that’s why you live in the building. You’re taking care of it for him.”

“Yes.”

“That’s an awful lot of responsibility you’ve been carrying around for a while.”

She came within reach on her latest pass of the room, and Murphy jerked her onto his lap. Eve squeaked when she fell. He dropped a kiss on her forehead. Then frowned.

“Where does the money for this building come from? Did your stepfather set up a trust for you before his health declined?”

Eve dug her teeth into her bottom lip. “No, he refused to trust me with his money. He was convinced I couldn’t handle it. Even now on his rare lucid occasions he complains. Now all the money goes to his care.”

“Hence your job here, then.” Chase touched her cheek, and she leaned into his hand.

She was drowning in a sea of responsibility and had chosen them to share her pain. By trusting in them enough to act out her fantasies and needs.

“This half life you’ve been living isn’t much of a life at all. Certainly not the one you need.” Chase tangled his fingers in her hair and tugged her head back until their gazes met.

“Why did you start crying?” Chase questioned her.

Murphy watched the play-by-play between them. The heat they exchanged without even realizing it.

“Tell me.”

“You called me submissive.”

The expression on Chase’s face changed. Nothing overtly obvious, but to someone who’d known him for twenty years it was obvious. The slight flattening of his lips, the shuttered lids, and even the slight flare of his nose.

“You don’t like being called a sub?”

“Chase, I don’t think I’m truly submissive. Yes, I have a lot of kinky fantasies and being tied up gives me a sense of freedom I can’t get any other way, but I like to be in control of my own life. Not following someone else’s will. I’ve done enough of that in my life.”

“And it’s just that simple?”

“Nothing is ever simple. It’s the lesson I keep learning over and over.” The bitterness of that statement filled the room. Something Murphy wanted to take from her.

She squeezed her eyes closed, and Murphy took that moment to rub her thigh. She jerked under his hand. He continued. He liked the idea she was fighting her nature and she needed to get used to his touch. He’d love the opportunity to prove her wrong.

Chase’s hand tightened on her nape as he moved closer, his lips hovering near her ear.

“You fight too much, little one. It’s time for you to do something for yourself for a change.”

“We…uh…I did. I posed for pictures and you and…uh…Murphy…”

“Yes, you did. Was it enough? Are you ready to simply go back to the way things were?”

Murphy traced her thigh to the heat between her legs. Already her panties were damp. He brushed across her mound, and she jerked in his lap. Her lids lifted, and the naked heat in her eyes did him in.

Chapter Eleven

The woman was as willful as they came. Chase bit at her earlobe while Murphy pulled the panties from under her skirt. Little did she know she’d let them in enough for them to figure out exactly what she needed and how far she’d go without getting broken.

This wasn’t how he’d planned to put his proposal to her, but he was nothing if not flexible. This kind of thing was expected with an untrained submissive. The depth to which she wanted to go wasn’t completely clear as of yet, and testing her would be a hell of a lot of fun for them all.

“This doesn’t have to be the end yet. We’ve barely scratched the surface.”

Murphy slid a finger through the folds of her pussy, and the resulting moan from Eve sent a kick to his self-control, reminding him that this woman had more power than she realized. He’d need to tread carefully.

“You really do make the perfect model for me. You are like the perfect lush piece of fruit begging for someone to pluck you from the vine.”

“Is that a nice way to say I’m a desperate fat girl?”

Thwack!

Eve screeched at the abrupt slap across her inner thigh. Chase smiled at Murphy’s quick thinking.

“You don’t want to disrespect us like that again. Do not piss me off, Eve.”

“I’m sorry, I was only kidding.”

“Anything that involves you degrading something I covet or own is not very amusing. I expect I won’t hear something like that come out of your mouth again.”

“Yes.” She nodded.

“Yes, what?” Chase knew she’d know what he meant, and now seemed as good a time as any to start reinforcing it. She had no idea how badly he wanted to discipline her for her ridiculous comment.

“Yes, Sir.” He recognized the obvious hesitation and let it go for now. They had plenty of time to keep working on protocols.

“Now as I was saying. The photographs I’ve taken so far represent some of my best work. I’ve had a project in mind for a long time, and this is the first time I’ve come across a model who fits what I’m looking for.”

“But as you pointed out, I’m not a model.”

Chase shook his head. If she wasn’t careful, she’d be going from the willful category and straight into bratty. And bratty subs did not enjoy his brand of punishment.

“The fact you’re not a professional model is what has made you the perfect subject in this case. Despite your insistence that you aren’t submissive, your expressions and movements and even actions speak a totally different story.”

“But—”

Chase covered her mouth with his hand. “Just listen, beautiful. Stop fighting.”

While they’d been talking, Murphy had rubbed the spot he’d smacked, where a perfect red streak had appeared. He’d noticed more than once Eve widening her legs and giving Murphy better access to her cunt.

“You have fantasies. I dare to guess deep, dark ones you’ve never shared with anyone. Am I right?”

“Yes.”

“We can help you with those. Give you a safe haven for exploration.”

“And you want to capture that on film?”

“Yes, I do.”

“That sounds kind of… I don’t know. Disconnected.” Her upper body shuddered on the last word. Murphy had gone back to finger fucking her, and his wicked hands were starting to get to her.

“Taking pictures is what I do, Eve. It would be an honor to capture your expressions as you experience them.”

Chase bit down on the shell of her ear just hard enough to give her a quick thrill of pain to add to Murphy’s movements.

“What would I have to do?”

“Anything and everything I command. You’d be ours to do with as we please. If you want a safe word, I’ll give you one. Although I’d caution you to use it wisely. Our intent will be to push your boundaries. To test you beyond your normal limits. There is a lot to explore, and everything I’ve seen so far makes me believe you need this too.”

Chase swallowed past the lump forming in his throat. The perfume of her sex filled the room, and the thick wave of lust pushed at his patience.

Eve shivered against him.

“What questions do you have?”

“I’m nervous.” Her tongue darted out to lick her lips. His cock throbbed at the sight. Damn, he wanted to take her mouth. Watch her mouth stretch wide as she worked to make him fit. Not the time. Chase steeled himself against his stray thoughts.

Chase licked across the lobe of her ear. “I’d be worried if you weren’t a little afraid. Try to relax. Let us help you.” He bit his way along her jawline until he was inches away from their mouths touching, their breath mingled.

“Come, Eve, come now.”

Her eyes grew wide and her pert mouth opened to scream, but no sound came out. Her body shuddered and jerked against him, every muscle spasming with her release.

Murphy moaned and moved to lap at her slit. When Eve would have jackknifed forward from the extreme pleasure, Chase held her down and made her ride it out while restrained. As much as he wanted to fuck her again, he’d make himself wait until tomorrow night. The buildup from need and anticipation would serve his purposes well.

Spent, Eve collapsed against his chest. Murphy dislodged his fingers and smiled wickedly when he brought three soaking-wet fingers to his mouth. Oh yes, their little submissive wouldn’t live in denial much longer.

Chase brushed the wet hair from her face and lifted her gently. “Murphy is going to take you home tonight. Tomorrow is Saturday and I expect you to get some rest. Drink lots of fluids as well. At midnight, we will pick you up. You can wear whatever you like because you won’t need it for long. Until then, everything else will be a surprise.”

Chase turned her at an angle and cupped her cheek. “Do you understand my instructions?”

“I can’t help but think—”

He gripped her tighter. “That’s your problem right now. You think too much when all you really need to do is obey. Trust us to take care of you.”

Eve nodded.

“Good, now turn around and give me a proper kiss good-bye.”